The Once and Future Thing
by X-Chick303
Summary: Rex can't wait to become an adult and do whatever he wants. But when a mysterious man from the future arrives on the scene, he learns that his future just may not be worth living in.
1. Part 1

**The year 2035.**

Opening Scene: A ruined city. We see the broken remains of the Statue of Liberty in the distance. The camera zooms in on a more intact building. That is, it_ was_ intact, until a large explosion blew the roof off the place.

Flying out of the smoke on some sort of hover-board, was what seemed to be a ninja. He was dressed entirely in black, with swords strapped to his back, guns in holsters, and a tan-pouched belt. He also had grey ammunition packs slung across his chest. His mask covered his face completely, except for some blue slits for seeing through.

The ninja tapped the side of his head, activating his comm-link. "It's me. I got the missing component."

"_Excelente. Bring it back to base._", a voice replied.

"Roger that. But for your sake, this doohickey better work, considering what I had to go through to get it."", the ninja said. "Mister High-and-Mighty's EVOs have gotten nastier."

Before the voice on the other end could reply, something blew the ninja right off his hover-board, sending him flying into a building, then landing on the street below.

The ninja got up off of the car that had cushioned his fall, grunting, "Ah, my back. If there was a chance I'd ever have grandchildren, they'd be feeling this."

He looked up to see what had hit him, and it had been a bat-like EVO. Soon, he was surrounded by these creatures. And to make matters worse, the EVOs parted, and came through was...

"Well, well, well. The high-and-mighty Van Kleiss graces a lowly revolutionary with his presence.", the ninja scoffed.

The man was, indeed, Van Kleiss. But he looks different. Van Kleiss is considerably older, wearing the outfit he wore in "Leader of the Pack." His hair, which was shorter, had more gray to it, and he also had an eye patch.

"And you're the battle front's little ninja stooge. You're almost as annoying as Providence's last one. But if you would kindly return what you stole, I just might let you live.", Van Kleiss said.

"And I just might poke out your _other_ eye, the way this conversation's going.", the ninja retorted.

The ninja then took out his swords, and leapt over Van Kleiss, slashing and hacking at any bat-EVO that got in his way.

"Kill him!", Van Kleiss shouted. The EVOs proceeded to chase the ninja.

The ninja found his board and flew off, finally reaching his destination: the ruins of Providence base.

When he landed, he was greeted by a rag-tag team of men.

"Do you have it?", one guy asked.

"Would I be here if I didn't?", the ninja replied. "Let's get a move on. A bunch of EVOs are headed this way."

The men led him into a lab, where he walks over to a ragged-looking man.

"This had better be worth it, Caesar.", the ninja mildly-threatened as he handed over a strange device.

Caesar gave him a half-smile and took it. He too, looks different. Caesar now has slightly wrinkled skin and grayer hair, which was long enough to be in a ponytail.

"_Será, no te preocupes_. I've been working on this vortex-generator for twenty four years. It'll work.", Caesar replied.

He then walked over to a machine about the size of a computer. He attached the final component

Caesar walked back over to the ninja. "You know what to do?"

The ninja nodded. "Yes."

"Are you ready?"

"Been ready."

Caesar attached a bracelet to the ninja's wrist. "Once you get to the right time, this will keep you from disappearing. Don't let anything happen to it."

The ninja nodded, then Caesar began typing code into a computer. The vortex generator fired up, shooting a beam of light that expanded into a portal.

A voice came over the intercom. "_Alert! We have multiple EVOs attacking! Repeat, we have an EVO attack- ARGGGH!_"

Caesar grimaced, then shouted, "GO NOW!"

The ninja lept through the portal, and it closed as soon as he did.

As the building around Caesar crumpled, he said, "Good luck, _mijo_. Good luck in saving our greatest hero."

***.*.*.*.*.*  
>Present Day.<strong>

"_Aaaayuuudaaa!_"

A giant tentacled Evo picked the teenager up, spun him around, then threw him into a fruit stand. When landed, he didn't bother get up. He just sat there and let watermelon drip all over him.

"Sometimes I hate this job.", Rex groaned.

**(Extended Theme Plays.)**

_**So make way to start the revolution**_  
><em><strong>Make way, we're gonna have fun tonight<strong>_  
><em><strong>Make way to start the revolution<strong>_  
><em><strong>Let loose and everything will be alright<strong>_

_**Here we go**_  
><em><strong>Here we go again<strong>_  
><em><strong>The clock spins and the roof is down tonight<strong>_  
><em><strong>Don't win<strong>_  
><em><strong>Don't regret in the shadow of hate<strong>_  
><em><strong>And feel all retarded<strong>_

_**Shine on**_  
><em><strong>Shine like you do<strong>_  
><em><strong>Watch out cause I'm comin' through<strong>_  
><em><strong>So haul fast, and take the wheel<strong>_  
><em><strong>It's your chance, gonna do what you do<strong>_  
><em><strong>Well I've been waiting all my life for fears<strong>_  
><em><strong>Cause I've been waiting for you<strong>_  
><em><strong>I've been waiting all my life for fears<strong>_  
><em><strong>I've been waiting for you<strong>_

_**So make way to start the revolution**_  
><em><strong>Make way, we're gonna have fun tonight<strong>_  
><em><strong>Make way to start the revolution<strong>_  
><em><strong>Let loose and everything will be alright<strong>_

_**I feel it**_  
><em><strong>I feel it in the air<strong>_  
><em><strong>It's in the breezes, everywhere<strong>_  
><em><strong>I feel good, walkin' down the street<strong>_  
><em><strong>And just know, that I don't care<strong>_

_**Well I've been waiting all my life for fears**_  
><em><strong>I've been waiting for you<strong>_  
><em><strong>I've been waiting all my life for fears<strong>_  
><em><strong>I've been waiting for you<strong>_

_**So make way to start the revolution**_  
><em><strong>Make way, we're gonna have fun tonight<strong>_  
><em><strong>Make way to start the revolution<strong>_  
><em><strong>Let loose and everything will be alright<strong>_

_**So make way to start the revolution**_  
><em><strong>Make way, we're gonna have fun tonight<strong>_  
><em><strong>Make way to start the revolution<strong>_  
><em><strong>So make way<strong>_

_**So make way to start the revolution**_  
><em><strong>Make way, we're gonna have fun tonight<strong>_  
><em><strong>Make way to start the revolution<strong>_  
><em><strong>Let loose and everything will be alright<strong>_

_**Make way to start the revolution**_  
><em><strong>Make way to start the revolution<strong>_  
><em><strong>Make way to start the revolution<strong>_

_**So make way!**_

***.*.*.*.*.***

"Whoa, chief, what happened? Did ya lose a fight to a fruit salad?", Bobo Haha joked.

Rex glared at him as he exited the Keep. And yes, he was still covered in mushed fruit.

"You wouldn't think it was so funny if you've fought this particular EVO _five times_ already, and every time it's thrown you into a food stand of some sort! Last week, it was an ice cream truck! The week before that was a hot dog stand! And the week before that...", Rex ranted.

"We get the idea.", Agent Six interrupted. "Hit the showers, then go to Holiday. She wants to talk to you."

Rex stomped off, grumbling about how there was no sympathy in this place.

Bobo looked at Six. "What I wanna know is why you guys haven't been able to catch that thing yet."

Six folded his arms. "The last five times, it kept escaping. But this time around we finally manged to capture it."

Later, Rex finished cleaning up and headed to Holiday's lab.

"You wanted to see me, Doc?", Rex asked.

Holiday nodded. "Yes. It's just a routine nanite-count. Get up on the table."

Rex did so, and Holiday began tapping away at a computer.

"So, Rex. I heard they finally captured that EVO. I guess you won't need to take a shower every single day now, huh?", Holiday said, making small talk.

Rex smiled. "About time. I'm sick of having my_ trasero_ being handed to me and everyone laughing behind my back. When I'm an adult and in charge, then we'll see who's laughing."

Holiday consulted a chart. "Well, I think it's nice that you're thinking about the future, but don't you have other goals?"

Rex shrugged. "What other goals do I need? Being in charge means that I can throw a party without getting grounded, or I could be able to choose my own missions."

Holiday smirked. "If you think that's what being an adult is about, you're sadly mistaken."

Before the conversation could continue, there was a loud explosion noise. The lab shook for a second and the lights flickered. Holiday and Rex looked at each other.

"Caesar?", Holiday asked.

"Caesar.", Rex agreed.

The two rushed out of the lab to Caesar's workshop. Rex used his powers to get the door open, and when he did, the hallway filled with smoke.

Rex coughed. "Whoa, _hermano_! What the heck happened in here?"

Caesar stepped out, all sooty and smokey-smelling. He removed his goggles, which left a clean imprint around his eyes. "I was building a vortex generator. But it blew up."

Holiday rubbed her forehead. "Why were you building that in the first place?"

"I already drew up blueprints for one a few weeks ago. And I was bored.", Caesar replied. "If my theory is correct, it could open a vortex that allows us to travel through time. We could prevent the Event in the first place!"

"Caesar, I've seen every time-travel movie known to man. You never want to mess with time. Change something in the past, and monkeys rule the future. You really want a world ruled by Bobo?", Rex asked.

Caesar shrugged. "I'll risk it. But unfortunately, my designs still need work. Even if it takes a hundred years, I'll perfect it." He wiped off his face. "Oh well. Back to work."

He went back into his workshop, and Six decided to show up.

"Is your brother insane?", Six asked. **(Remember, this takes place after "Six minus Six." His memories are still a bit fuzzy.)**

Rex sighed. "Depends on who you ask."

***.*.*.*.*.***

Night time at Providence. On a nearby mesa, the vortex from earlier opens and our ninja guy falls out. He's dazed for a moment, but quickly collects himself. He stares at the Providence base in the distance.

"Providence is still in one piece. That means Caesar's device worked.", the ninja muttered. He looked at his watched, which displayed the date. "And according to the date, I've got a few days before it happens."

He surveyed his surroundings, then disappeared into the night.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Meanwhile, in Abysus, Van Kleiss was in his quarters, conversing with someone. Biowulf had his ear to the door.

"Well?", asked Skalamander. "Who's he talking too?"

"Quiet!", Biowulf hissed. "I can't hear with you blathering over my shoulder."

"I'm just saying.", Skalamander went on. "This guy appears out of nowhere, demanding to speak to Van Kleiss. What guy has the gall to-"

"I said, quiet!", Biowulf shouted-whispered.

Inside the room, Van Kleiss was pacing back and forth. "I must say. you're story is a little hard to believe. But circumstances convince me."

"Excellent.", said his guest. He came out of the shadows, revealing it to be the Van Kleiss from earlier. "But if our future is to be absolute, we have to care of a little pest problem. Before I came here, Providence's ninja went through a vortex."

"Agent Six?", Van Kleiss-the-younger asked.

"No, a different man.", Van Kleiss-the-elder replied. "But he's managed to make himself a nuisance in my time. But since we're now on the same page, I have a plan.

***.*.*.*.*.***

"I'm just saying.", Rex said. "I don't get enough respect back at Providence. This morning someone filled my closet with fruit. Fruit!"

It was the next day, and Rex was currently playing basketball with Noah. Rex took a shot, and missed.

"That's an 'R', so you now have H-O-R.", Noah said. They were playing HORSE. "And what do you expect? You're a teenager. Teenagers aren't known for getting respect. So, how's Six doing?"

Rex shrugged. "Still missing the last six years. I have to tell him about all the stuff we did, and that gets annoying. And don't get me started about-"

Rex stopped. He dropped his ball then proceeded to look around.

"Umm, what are you doing?", Noah asked.

Rex stopped what he was doing, "Do you ever get the feeling that you're being watched?"

Noah scoffed. "Paranoid, much?"

Just then, Rex's cellphone went off. He answered it. "_Hola_, this is Rex."

"_It's Holiday. We have a situation. We're sending the Keep to pick you up._"

Rex nodded. "Roger that." He turned to Noah. "Sorry, Noah. Duty calls."

"It's okay. Just kick some serious EVO butt for me.", Noah said.

Rex laughed at that, and then activated his Boogie Pack. He flew upwards, soon meeting up with the Keep. Someone had opened up the hanger, so he headed for that.

As Rex headed for the hanger door, for a second, he thought he saw someone clinging to the side of the ship. He did a double-take, but what he thought he saw was gone.

He flew in the Keep and landed. Waiting for him was Bobo.

"Bobo, I think I'm going crazy.", Rex said immediately.

Bobo shrugged. "Must be a family trait."

Meanwhile, underneath the Keep, our ninja was holding on to the bottom of the ship, awaiting it's destination.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Holiday saying it was a situation was like saying the Civil War was a disturbance. A large group of EVOs were practically destroying Los Angeles.

The Keep landed, and Providence Assault Vehicles rolled out along with foot soldiers. Rex, on the other hand, simply flew out on his Boogie Pack.

He landed right in front of the largest group of EVOs. "Okay, I think California has enough problems without you guys tearing up their most famous city."

The EVOs turned to look at him.

"It's him!", one garbled.

"The one out master wants!", another one screeched.

"Get him!", the third one howled.

"Uh-oh.", Rex said, then jumping away from the charging EVOs with his Punk Busters.

Once he got some distance, he activated his Funchuks and went charging himself.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Six, too, had joined the battle. Unsheathing his katanas, he began keeping EVOs away from innocent bystanders.

At one point, an EVO was about to attack him from behind, when something shot it, and what hit it, electrocuted it.

Six looked at the writhing EVO. He turned to some soldiers. "Which one of you hit it?"

"Um, he did.", one soldier answered, pointing.

And of course, who he was pointing at was none other than our ninja guy. The ninja lept off of a roof, shooting several other EVOs in the process. He landed right next to Six.

"Are you on our side?", Six asked him.

"Might as well be.", Ninja replied. (**For the time being, I'm calling this guy "Ninja" to save time.)**

They both turned to see more EVOs. They looked at each other.

"You take left, I take right?", Ninja asked.

Six nodded. "Fair enough."

The ninja unsheathed his own katanas, and he and Six charged.

It took Six a few minutes to realize that he and the ninja were practically moving in perfect sync. This ninja had all of his moves!

"Interesting moves.", Six commented.

"I had an interesting teacher.", Ninja replied. Then he ran on ahead.

Before Six could stop him, he another EVO to deal with.

***.*.*.*.*.***

"Where are all of these guys coming from?", Rex shouted as he punched an EVO with a Smack Hand.

An EVO was blasted by Bobo. " How the heck should I know? Maybe Van Kleiss got bored and decided to make our lives more complicated."

"Speaking of complicated, what's Six up to?", Rex asked.

"Last time I saw him, he was kicking EVO fanny with some ninja.", Bobo replied.

"What ninja?"

Then, as if on cue, our Ninja charged in, riding on the back of an EVO. He jabbed a taser-like device into it's neck, and brought it down.

"Oh.", Rex said. "That ninja."

Ninja hopped off the EVO's body. "This is as good place as any." He then pulled a device out of his belt and tossed it to Rex.

"Who the heck are you?", Rex asked. "And what's this?"

"Just put it on the ground, place your hands on it, and do what you usually do when you cure.", Ninja replied.

Rex almost protested, but was interrupted by Ninja. "Look, would you rather end this, or keep having your _trasero _handed to you?"

Bobo laughed. "Can't mess with that logic."

Rex scowled, but did what he was told. He put the device on the ground, placed his hands on it, and did what he usually did when he was curing. Immediately, the machine released some sort of energy pulse, curing the enemy EVOs.

Rex stood back up in shock. Now the device was broken and smoking.

Ninja walked up next to him. "Problem with that thing, it's one-use-only."

Right after that, Six and several other soldiers ran up.

"Rex! What was that?", Six asked.

"I don't really know. But it was thanks to the mystery ninja.", Rex replied. "He's awesome!"

"Thanks.", Ninja said. "And I'm sorry."

"For what?", Rex asked.

"This.", Ninja replied. All of a sudden, he kicked Bobo out of the way and grabbed Rex from behind.

Rex struggled, only to have Ninja press a cloth to his face. He tried not to inhale the sickly-sweet scent, but couldn't avoid it. He soon fell unconsious.

"Rex!", Six shouted. He whipped out his blades and ran towards Ninja.

Ninja hoisted Rex over his shoulder, and dropped some pellets. When they hit the ground, they erupted in thick black smoke.

Six and the soldiers coughed violently. The smoke dispersed almost as soon as it appeared, but Rex and the ninja had vanished without a trace.

"Search the entire city!", Six shouted. "They couldn't have gotten far!"

Six was partly confused. Who was this man, and did he have to gain from kidnapping Rex?

***.*.*.*.*.***

From a nearby rooftop, the two Van Kleiss's had watched the entire scene play out.

"If you just wanted to capture Rex, I could have sent Breach.", Young Van Kleiss pointed out.

"That was not the point of this.", Older Van Kleiss said. "Capturing Rex comes later. The point of this was to lure our pest out of hiding. Now that we know where he is, my plan can truly begin."

**End of part 1! Like it? Hate it? Review and tell me!**


	2. Part 2

**Part 2! When we last saw our hero, he had been kidnapped by a ninja from the future!**

Rex slowly opened his eyes. His head was pounding.

_Ay caramba, my head..._, he thought. _What happened? One minute I was fighting EVOs, the next..._

He attempted to get up, only to fall on his stomach. Someone had bound his arms and legs.

Rex furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh, _now_ I remember." He tried to form his machines, but for some reason couldn't. "What's the deal? Why can't I make my machines?"

"I'd check that collar around your neck, for starters."

Rex turned his head the best he could, to see Ninja sitting lotus-style across the room.

"You! You knocked me out!", Rex shouted.

"If we're currently stating the obvious, I also kidnapped you and tied you up.", Ninja said in a sarcastic tone.

He then got up, walked over and sat Rex back up.

Rex craned his neck a little, now noticing the collar. "So, what is this thing, anyway?"

"It's a Neutralizer. As long as you wear it, your nanites are temporarily deactivated.", he replied. "The man who made it may be a complete kook, but he knows a thing or two about nanites. Also, as long as you wear it, Dr. Holiday can't track your bio-signature."

"I'm not worried about that.", Rex retorted. "I know Holiday. She's pretty smart. She can find me."

***.*.*.*.*.***

"I can't find him.", Holiday said, exasperated. "I can't track his bio-metrics, his nanites, anything!"

Six and Bobo were back aboard the Keep and had explained the situation to Holiday and White Knight.

"Keep trying.", White Knight growled from his computer screen. "I refuse to accept losing our cure to some crack-job ninja!"

White Knight's face disappeared from the screen. Caesar rushed in at that moment.

"Have you found him yet?", he asked in a worried voice.

Holiday shook her head.

Caesar scowled. "Who was this ninja, anyway?"

"I don't know,", Six said. "He showed up out of nowhere. At first, he helped take down a few EVOs. I had no idea why he was really there."

"Our mystery man also had all of Green Bean's moves to an art.", Bobo said. "Maybe he should be the sixth deadliest guy alive instead."

Six ignored him and held up an empty ammunition charge. "He also fired a few of these."

"When they hit an EVO, it sent a charge directly to its nanites. I figure if we find out who makes this type of ammunition, we'll find our ninja.", Holiday said.

Caesar took the empty charge and examined it. "I can tell you who made this... I did!"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a similar looking device. The one from his pocket looked incomplete. "I've been working on a prototype ammunition. To make defeating rogue EVOs a heck lot easier. I haven't shared it with anyone." He held up the charge he took from Six. "This here is a complete product. And believe me, I'd recognize my own work."

Holiday folded her arms. "So the question, if this is your invention and ways away from being completed, why does our ninja have it?"

"Now we have this _and_ Rex to worry about.", Six added.

Holiday sighed. "I'll keep looking."

***.*.*.*.*.***

As far as Rex could tell, he was in an abandoned office building, probably labeled for demolition. He was also probably still in Los Angeles.

He glanced at Ninja, who was sharpening one of his swords.

"What's your name, anyway?", Rex asked.

Without looking up, the ninja said, "King."

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Your name is '_King_.'"

"Yup."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, _that_ doesn't sound pompous at all."

For a minute, King was silent. Then he said, "You are _so_ irritating. How do people put up with you?"

"Practice.", Rex replied. "So, what was the point of kidnapping me?"

"It's simple, really.", King answered. "Something dangerous is about to go down and it's vital you don't get involved."

"What's about to go down?", Rex asked.

"That's classified.", King said.

"Okay... how you plan to stop it?", Rex also asked.

King lifted his sword and examined it. "By assassinating Van Kleiss."

If he had been drinking water, Rex would've done a spit-take. "_Assassinate_ Van Kleiss? Don't get me wrong, I pretty much hate the guy's guts. But even I don't want him dead!"

King stood up and sheathed his sword. "Trust me, kid. This has to be done. If it isn't, things will go from bad to-"

He stopped and stood very still, listening.

"From bad to what?", Rex asked.

King ignored him and said. "Shoot, they found us." (Well, he didn't say _shoot_, but let's say for the time being that he did.)

King grabbed Rex and hoisted him over his shoulder. He then proceeded to run out of the room and into a hallway.

"Ha! See? I told you my friend's would you find me!", Rex said triumphantly.

"It's not Providence who found us, kid.", King retorted, making a sharp turn.

After that turn, something exploded through the wall behind them. King quickly put Rex down in front of him, shielding him from debris. When they turned around, they saw it was a group of the bat-EVOs from earlier. Then a red portal appeared, and stepped out of it was Van Kleiss of the future.

"Hello, pest.", he said.

"Van Kleiss? But that's impossible.", King said in disbelief.

"That's _no_t Van Kleiss.", Rex argued, managing to stand up. "This guy is way too old. And he has an eye patch."

Van Kleiss smiled. "Oh, but I'm most certainly am Van Kleiss. As for my appearance, well, you stick around for twenty four years and you see how you look."

The bat-EVOs slowly advanced toward them.

"When I say run, run.", King whispered to Rex.

"What?", Rex asked, not quite sure what King meant.

"Kill the ninja, but take the boy alive.", Van Kleiss ordered the EVOs.

King whipped out his sword, and slashed at Rex. Rex flinched, but soon realized he hadn't been cut. Instead, King had sliced off his bonds and the collar.

"Run.", King ordered.

Rex just stood there in shock.

King then ran up the side of a wall, flipped, wrapped his legs around Van Kleiss's neck, and sent him crashing into the ground.

"I SAID RUN!", King practically screamed.

Rex unfroze and ran. The bat-EVOs didn't follow, since they had decided to defend their master.

***.*.*.*.*.***

"I have Rex's bio-signature!", Holiday called over her shoulder.

"Really?", Caesar said, looking over her shoulder.

She nodded. "It just appeared. Which means I can now find him!"

"Where is he?", Six asked.

Holiday hit a few computer keys. "Just a few miles from here."

Six nodded, then sent orders to have the Keep turned around.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Van Kleiss punched King, sending him flying through a wall. So, as you can probably guess, he's not doing so hot.

Van Kleiss picked him up by the shirt and pinned him to the wall. Hard.

He grinned. "Oh, how the mighty has fallen. I suppose this is as good a time as any to find out who you really are."

Van Kleiss removed King's mask. His eyes widened, then he frowned as he replaced the mask. "Of course it's you. I should have known. It would have been too good to be true if you _had_ died all those years ago."

King smirked underneath his mask. "What can I say? I'm too obstinate to die."

Van Kleiss raised his lethal gold gauntlet. "That can easily change."

Right before he could make the deadly blow, a chunk of rock hit him and sent him flying through a window, making him drop King.

It was Rex, his Slam Cannon ready to fire again. Instead, he deactivated his cannon and ran over to help King up.

"I thought I told you to run.", King scolded.

"You did.", Rex said. "But then I felt guilty for leaving you behind. So, here I am. You complaining?"

King paused before answering. "Not really. But what did you do about the bat-EVOs?"

Rex's eyes widened.

King gave him a look. (But with the mask, you couldn't really tell.) "You forgot about them, didn't you?"

At that moment, the bat-EVOs came screeching in.

"Now do you want to run?", King asked.

"Sounds good to me.", Rex agreed.

And they did just that. The two barreled through the EVOs, and back into the hallway.

"The exit's just a few floors down!", Rex shouted.

The EVOs then caught up, biting and scratching. Rex used his BFS to fend them off, while King used his guns. At one point, an EVO manged to claw at King's side.

"Are you okay?". Rex asked.

"I'm fine.", King said. "But we're not going to outrun these guys anytime soon. When I give the signal, activate your Boogie Pack and fly us out of here."

Rex nodded. "Got it."

King then reached into his belt, and pulled out an explosive. He pressed a button and threw it at the bat-EVOs.

"Now!", he shouted.

Rex activated his Boogie Pack, grabbed King, and flew them through a window. Following close behind was the explosion, which caused them to crash into the ground.

Rex got up. "If that didn't stop them, I don't know what will. And Van Kleiss isn't here. He must've high-tailed it out of here."

Rex turned around to see King kneeling on the ground, clutching his side.

Rex got down to his level. "Are you hurt? That explosion was pretty nasty. Hold still. I'm gonna check for a concussion."

Before King could stop him, Rex tore off his mask. When he saw his face, his eyes widened in absolute shock.

Rex slowly stood up. King also stood up, still clutching his side. Appearance wise, King had dark skin and reddish-brown eyes. His hair was black and streaked with gray, cut short. He also had a goatee. **(Like the one Caesar has in "Lions and Lambs", or so I'm told.)**

So, in other words, he basically looked like an older Rex.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Rex stared in shock. "You... look like me. Old, but like me."

"Correction: I don't _look_ like you. I _am_ you, in a couple decades. You're sixteen, I'm forty.", Older Rex corrected.

Rex stilled stared. "But how is that even possible?"

King (as we'll continue to call him, so that we can tell the two apart) sighed. "It's a long story, kid." Before he could go on, he winced in pain, clutching his side even harder. He removed his hand, revealing that it was covered in blood.

Rex gasped. "You're hurt! That's from when that EVO slashed at you, isn't it?"

Rex tried to help him, but King shrugged him off. "I'm fine. I've had worse injuries than this."

He began to walk forward, only to collapse on the ground, unconscious.

Rex knelt down and made him stand up, putting King's arm over his shoulder. "Great. Just great. First you get kidnapped, and then it turns out that your kidnapper is a dude claiming to be your future self. I swear, nothing will ever surprise me ever again."

Suddenly, the wind picked up. Rex looked up to see that it wasn't the wind, but Keep flying directly overhead. He then heard a buzzing coming from a pouch on King's belt. Rex reached in and pulled out his cellphone, which King had taken away.

"Hello?", Rex said, answering the phone.

"_Rex! Thank goodness you're alright! Why is that building down there on fire? What happened?_"

"Whoa, calm down Doc! I'm fine! But King isn't doing so hot.", Rex said, interrupting Holiday's worried-rant.

"_King? Who's King?_", Holiday asked.

Rex then remembered that he was the only one who knew who the ninja was. "Um, I mean, the ninja guy. He's hurt really bad and-"

"_The ninja? Rex, he kidnapped you! How are you on a first-name basis with him?_"

Rex looked at King's face, which simply was an aged version of his own. "Holiday, have I got a story for you..."

***.*.*.*.*.***

"... I have one thing to say.", Bobo said. "At least you still have all your hair!"

Rex gave Bobo a look. They were back at Providence, in Holiday's lab. King (who was still unconscious) was lying on the examination table, his wounds wrapped in bandages, courtesy of Holiday. His shirt and weapons were displayed on a separate table.

"You don't really believe that this man is Rex, do you?", Six asked. "Because I certainly don't."

"He said he was forty.", Rex said. "That would make him, what? Twenty, twenty four years older?" He looked at Caesar. "What do you think, bro?"

Caesar was examining King's weapons. "Well, I can't tell you if he's telling the truth, but I can tell you one thing. His guns, his ammunition, even the alloy of his swords; they're all_ my_ designs. Designs that are _incompleto_."

Holiday then walked in, holding a manila envelope. "I have the results from the DNA test." She opened the envelope and read the file. "It's official; either he's a clever fake, or he's really Rex."

"But how is that even possible?", Six asked. "This has to be a trick. Rex, tell us again what happened exact-"

Six stopped when he realized that Rex wasn't paying attention. He was talking with Bobo.

"Rex!", Six shouted.

Rex turned to him. "Sorry! I was just gloating. If this guy really is my older self, that means I will one day have facial hair! Bobo said it'd never happen! He totally owes me 20 dollars."

"Trust me, kid, you're never going to see it."

The group practically jumped a foot. They turned around to see King, awake and sitting up.

"Is there anyway I can get my shirt back?", he asked casually.

***.*.*.*.*.***

A few minutes and one shirt later, King's interrogation had begun.

"So, who are you really?", Six said in a grisly voice.

"I'm Rex.", King answered. "I believe I already told my younger self this and Holiday's DNA test proves it. But if you want, you can keep calling me 'King' to keep things from getting confusing."

"If you're really him," Six said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to prevent the future.", King replied. "Which, personally, isn't worth living in."

"What could be so bad about it?", Rex asked. "Any future where I'm around must be awesome,"

King stood up abruptly. "Does a world where the EVO population is out of control and the human race is practically extinct sound 'awesome' to you?"

Rex decided to shut up.

"How did you get here?", Holiday asked.

"You can thank Caesar for that.", King replied. "In my time, he completed a vortex generator, which allowed me to travel to the past."

"So I _do_ complete my generator!", Caesar said happily. "It takes twenty four years, but I finish it nevertheless."

King lifted his arm with the bracelet. "See this? It's what keeps me from sling-shooting back into my time."

"You said that the world in the future was overrun by EVOs and the human race was dying out.", Six said, continuing the interrogation.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm here to stop.", King said. "Twenty four years ago, Van Kleiss gained... a power. A power that allowed him to make army after army of EVOs. Providence tried to stop him, but it wasn't enough. We were over-powered. Eventually, his control spread all over the planet. Providence fell, and all in all, we lost."

The others looked at him in shock.

"The ones remained tried to fight Van Kleiss, but they all fell in time. Six, Holiday, Calan, Bobo, Noah. They were either killed or turned into an EVO. All that's left of us are a a rag-tag team of humans, Caesar, and myself. So that's why I'm here. To prevent this future from happening. It's also why I kidnapped Rex. It's important that he doesn't get involved with the events of the next twenty four hours."

"Unfortunately, we have another issue. Van Kleiss's older self had decided to crash the party.", Rex added. "Am I right?"

King nodded. "You are. And if I know that hack, he's probably helping his younger self ensure our future."

"If you're telling the truth, we'd be more than happy to help.", Holiday said.

King shook his head. "That's okay. I don't need help, and I already have a plan."

"Assassinating Van Kleiss isn't a very good plan.", Rex pointed out. He paused for a second. "If you don't mind me asking, this has been bugging me. Did we ever, you know, ever get our memories back?"

King sighed. "Sorry, but no, I haven't gotten them back yet."

"What!", Rex shouted. "I can't believe this!"

"Calm down, _mijo_.", Caesar said.

"I will not calm down!", Rex shouted. "Not only do I learn that the future is a living heck, but I'm still an amnesiac!"

Holiday could see things were about to get messy, so she said, "Rex, why don't go take a lap around the Petting Zoo and relax?"

Rex took a deep breath. "Fine." He stomped out of the room.

"He's acting like a two-year-old.", King said. "Obviously he doesn't understand I've had more important things to worry about for the last twenty years."

"You take a lap, too.", Holiday ordered.

"What? I am not-", King began to argue, but then Holiday got right up in his face.

"Take. A. Lap.", she said through grit teeth.

King blinked, then exited the room.

"Remind me to never make her angry.", Caesar said.

"Only if you remind me first.", Bobo replied.

"You can say that again.", Six agreed.

Holiday took a deep breath herself. "Sixteen or forty, Rex is still Rex. Anyway, now that they're gone, I can finally talk to you guys about something.

"What?", Six asked.

"It has to do with the results of the nanite scan I performed on King...", Holiday began to explain.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Rex tore through the Petting Zoo on his Rex Ride. He currently wanted to vent off some steam.

_I just can't believe it._, Rex thought. _In all that time, I haven't regained my memories. Will I ever get them back?_

"Hey, wait up!"

Rex stopped and returned to normal. A moment later, King ran up next to him.

King tried to catch his breath. "It's... official. I'm getting old."

"Why didn't you just activate your Rex Ride and catch up?", Rex asked.

He paused before answering. "Let's just say I've learned not to rely on my powers so much. Nanites aren't exactly trustworthy in my time. That's why I had Six teach me everything he knew."

"_Que_? I've asking him for years to teach me! What changed his mind?"

King gave Rex a look.

"Oh, right.", Rex said.

King looked around. "Man, I haven't been in here in ages. We had to shut it down back home."

He walked by Blinky-the-EVO-Tree, and examined it. But, then out of nowhere, an animal EVO lept out of some bushes and tackled King, pinning him down

King had fortunately managed to unsheathe his sword, which acted as a barrier between himself and the EVO's teeth.

"A little help here?", King shouted.

"What's the big deal?", Rex said. "Just cure it."

He struggled for a second before answering. "I can't!"

Rex realized that King was serious. He quickly jumped onto the EVO, placed his hand on it, and cured it. The EVO shrunk down into a squirrel.

It scampered off, and Rex helped King up.

"What was that about? Why didn't you try to cure it? And now that I think about it, why didn't you use your powers when were fighting the EVOs in downtown L.A? Or when we were up against Van Kleiss. All you did was use your swords and guns, as if you didn't-", Rex said, but stopped.

King just stood there, with a numb expression on his face.

Rex stepped forward, and placed his hand on King's chest. A blue tech-pattern appeared for a moment, then receded back into his hand.

Rex took a step back. "Your nanites... they're inactive."

"You're right. I'm not an EVO anymore. I'm human.", King said. "I'm cured."


	3. Part 3

**Hope my cliffhanger kept you wondering! Now, enjoy part 3. (Oh, in case you're wondering why I'm calling Older-Rex "King", it's because the name "Rex", is Latin for "king." Cool, huh?)**

"You're... cured?", Rex asked. "But how is that even possible?"

"Remember when I said Van Kleiss gained the power to take over? That power was the Omega-1 Nanite.", King replied.

"The Omega-1!", Rex exclaimed. "You let him get his hands on that?"

That struck a nerve. "You think I _let_ him? Well, let me tell you something,_ niño_! Van Kleiss attacked, I arrived to stop him, and used that gauntlet to rip it right out of my DNA! After that, I was in a coma for six months! Six months! When I finally _did_ wake up, I realized that I didn't have my powers anymore. I couldn't build my weapons, I couldn't cure EVOs, I couldn't do anything!"

"Then... how did you cure EVOs over the years? I mean, you had that gizmo back in Los Angeles!", Rex shouted.

"That 'gizmo" was given to me by Caesar to give to you. As for curing, I didn't have my powers, so I couldn't. I had to adapt to Providence's old protocol: Contain, or Kill.", King replied.

Rex was officially horrified. "You _killed_ EVOs? But if they were really humans? People?"

His older self had a stern expression. "Collateral damage. This was war, and I needed to be prepared to make the sacrifices needed to win it."

Rex scowled. "You know who you sound like? White Knight. And that scares me."

"Well, maybe he had the right idea. When Van Kleiss turned him into an EVO, he asked me to kill him. And I did. Then I became leader of Providence." He crossed his arms. "I guess your goal to be in charge is fulfilled after all."

"You remember that talk we had with Holiday?", Rex asked in shock.

King nodded. "Of course I do. To this day I look back on that conversation and think, 'What a naive little idiot I was.'"

What came next was pretty much expected.

*****.*.*.*.*.*****

"Let me get this straight. He 's _not_ an EVO?", Six asked.

Holiday nodded. "According to my results, he has the nanite signature of the average, non-EVO human. A deeper analysis shows that he's also missing the Omega-1 Nanite."

"That's impossible.", Caesar argued. "The Omega-1 is fully integrated into Rex's DNA. You wouldn't be able to remove it even if you tried."

"Also, when I tested his DNA, it was... damaged. Not enough to cause him serious harm, but damaged nevertheless. If someone removed the Omega-1, do you think the DNA would be slightly harmed?", Holiday asked.

Caesar was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Speaking of the Rexs, I wonder how they're doing?", Bobo said, interrupting the others.

Then, as if on cue, King came crashing through the lab window.

"Not so good, apparently.", Six said.

"King? What happened?", Holiday asked.

King slowly got up and as he exited the room, he said, "Ask. Him."

Once he was gone, Rex flew into the lab on his Boogie Pack and landed. "He's gone? About time. Good riddance."

"What did you do?", Six asked.

"I activated my Smack Hands and punched him in the face,", Rex answered nonchalantly.

"You punched yourself in the face?", Bobo asked. "Now that's hard-core."

"That guy is _not_ me.", Rex shouted angrily. "That guy is a cold, heartless, _cabrón_!"

Rex then explained what King had told him. It pretty much horrified the others as well.

"I don't believe that, _mijo_.", Caesar said. "I know you. You'd never become... like that."

"Maybe you don't know as well as you think. Maybe I don't even know myself." Rex turned to Holiday. "I know I said that I wanted to grow up, but if that's the man I'm going to become, I'd rather die."

Rex then stormed out of the room.

Holiday sighed, then looked at Six. "I take Rex, you take King?"

Six shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

***.*.*.*.*.***

Six entered the viewing room in the training area.

"What's he up to?", Six asked the agent running it.

"He said to turn it up on the highest level. That he needed to blow off steam.", the agent replied. "Is it just just me, or does Rex look older?"

"It's just you.", Six said.

Six entered the training room, in time to hear King slash at robot drones with his katanas, ranting in Spanish.

"_Esa mocosa! Quién se cree que es? Estoy tratando de ayudar, pero él está agradecidos? __No!_", King shouted. "_No sé por qué me molesto__! Bueno, espero que él es feliz con un futuro de mierda, porque eso es-_"

He came to a sudden stop, because he was an inch away from cutting off Six's head.

"Six!", King shouted. "I could've decapitated you!"

"I doubt it.", Six said. "As far as I'm told, I was the one who taught you what you know in the future. A student rarely bests the master."

King ignored what he said. "Listen, I know why you're here. You're here to talk to me about Rex. But I don't need a lecture. I'm not sixteen anymore. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm older than you now."

"Age doesn't mean maturity. If you ask me, the only difference from your current self and your teen-aged self is that you've lost your ideals.", Six said.

King gave him a look. "What would you know about me? If I remember correctly, this is during your missing-the-last-six-years days."

"That may be true. But the Rex I've come to know wouldn't have sunk so low as to White Knight's level.", Six retorted. "I know you were fighting a war back in your time, but instead of learning from your mistakes, you just became a bitter old man."

King then picked up Six by his shirt. "You want to know what happened to you in the future, Six? You and I had a plan to blow up Van Kleiss's base, but you were captured while making sure I escaped without that _cabrón _finding out who I was. And then, just for the heck out it, he turned you into this hideous, painful EVO. You found your way back to our base. Caesar said that your nanite structure was unstable. You were going to be in continuous pain for the rest of your existence. So I had to put you down! You, the man who had been like a father to me! It was that moment I realized that this war needed to end, no matter what the cost!"

Six pushed King off himself. "And if that Six could see you now, what would he think?"

Six let that sink in, and headed for the door. Before he exited, he said, "Want to know why you haven't won your war yet? Because you've been fighting like a soldier, instead of just fighting like Rex."

Six left King standing there, who was speechless.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Rex, on the other hand, was venting off his steam in a less violent fashion. He was in his room, listening to really loud rock music.

Holiday knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

Rex turned off the music. "Sure."

Holiday came in and sat in a chair. "I wanted to talk you about King."

Rex rolled his eyes. "There's nothing to talk about. That guy is a jerk! He's obnoxious, stubborn, never listens..."

"Is exactly the same as you.", Holiday threw in.

"Is exactly the same as- what? That guy is nothing like me!", Rex argued.

"Rex, like it or not, King is like you. And that's because he _is_ you.", she argued back.

"Then it's great to know that I become a cruel, heartless killer!", Rex shouted.

Holiday didn't answer for a second. "I don't think that. Rex, remember back in L.A., when King helped us take down those EVOs? He could've killed all of them, but he didn't. Tell me, Rex. Since you've met him, have you looked him the eye?"

Rex was more curious than angry now. "No, I haven't."

"Well, I have. And they weren't the eyes of a killer. They were the eyes of someone who was very, very sad.", she went on.

Rex was silent. He didn't know what to say.

Before she exited, Holiday said, "Pain and loss can change a person. Maybe in the future, you felt a lot of that."

***.*.*.*.*.***

Rex spent the next half hour looking for King. Providence HQ was a big place, so he had a lot of places to look. Finally, he checked on the roof.

It was late afternoon. The sun was beginning to set. Rex could see King sitting on the edge of the roof, his legs dangling over the side.

Rex was about to speak, but King beat him to it. "When I was a kid, I'd always come out here to watch the sunset. I don't know why. I just found it relaxing. It was the only time of day that I think clearly."

Rex sat down next to him. "I guess I do come out here a lot. To think, that is." He paused. "I'm sorry I punched you in the face."

King gave a half smile. "Nah, don't worry about it. I had it coming. I shouldn't have snapped at you." Now it was his turn pause. "Listen, it's not like I kill EVOs left and right. I always try to avoid it if I can. I would've explained that to you, but I was too angry. I guess my big mouth still gets me into trouble, huh?"

"Tell me about it!", Rex agreed. "I remember that one rabbit EVO. The only reason it kept coming after me was because I insulted it!" He looked at King. "Do you remember that rabbit EVO?"

King frowned, and for a second Rex thought he'd done some wrong. But then King smiled. "Are you kidding? I still have nightmares! Do you remember when we stole Six's suit so that we could go to prom? He was furious!"

"It was his favorite one.", Rex pointed out.

"Favorite? They all look the same! I swear, the day that man wears a different color suit, it'll be the end of the world.", King said.

They began laughing uncontrollably. Then King got quiet.

"Wow.", King said. "I haven't laughed in decades. Six was right. I am a bitter old man."

"I wouldn't say bitter. Just... sad.", Rex said. "Hey, this also has been bothering me. Do me and Circe ever, you know, get together?"

"Circe?" King rubbed his chin. "Man, I haven't thought about her in years. Last time I saw her, she, Cricket, Tuck, and Sqwydd had started a resistance in Hong Kong. But that was back when I was 19. I have no way of knowing if they're alive or dead now."

Rex sighed. "The future must really be horrible, if it's enough to make you... me... us forget about Circe."

King closed his eyes. "The future is an endless war. I've been fighting for so long. Maybe it's time I stopped."

"King?", Rex asked.

"Yes?", King said right back.

The sun was almost completely set.

"The event where I lose my powers. It's tonight, isn't it?", Rex asked.

King waited before responding. "Yes. It is."

Rex's communicator went off. He answered it. It was Holiday.

"_Rex? Van Kleiss is making his move._"

Rex nodded. "Copy that. I'll be right down." He hung up and looked at King. "It's time."

King stood up, stretched, then helped Rex up. "Might as well get this over with. I'm not getting any younger, and you have an annoyingly long life to live."

***.*.*.*.*.***

The Providence Stealth Ship landed on a nearby rooftop. A mile away, people were running from a building, which was being overrun by EVO vines and plants.

"Hmm. EVO plants.", King said. "That's definitely Van Kleiss."

"You lived through this before.", Six said. "Any suggestions?"

"Um, yeah.", King began. He looked at Rex. "Rex, don't get that mohawk when you're 18. It took forever for my hair to grow back!"

"Rats.", Rex said brokenheartedly.

"King! Any _serious_ suggestions?", Six shouted. Then he grumbled, "And could you go back to being a jerk? You were so much easier to work with then."

King rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. When I did this the first time, I did an aerial attack." He pointed to the top of the planty-building. "See? No EVOs guarding it."

"Wait, that doesn't make sense.", Rex said. "Shouldn't they be protecting it? So that I don't get in?"

"Remember? Van Kleiss wants to ensure the future. That means he _wants_ you to get in.", he replied. "So, you, me, and Six will be entering from the bottom, and we'll work our way up. We need to keep this small. Reinforcements can come later. "

Rex shrugged. "You're the expert."

The trio made their way to the building, and stopped in front of the front door.

Six unsheathed his blades. "You sure about this?"

"Too late to back out now.", Rex said, activating his BFS.

"And I have nothing left to lose.", King said, pulling out his katanas.

They did what came natural. They charged.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Biowulf ran into the main room. "My lords! Rex and Agent Six are attacking from below!"

The two Van Kleiss's simply gave him a couple of eerie smiles.

"Good."

***.*.*.*.*.***

The men hacked through EVO plants and regular EVOs alike. After sometime, they made it to the elevator. It didn't work at first, but Rex fixed that.

When they reached the designated floor, King said, "30th floor. Furniture. Cosmetics. Evil megalomaniacs."

Rex snickered. "I still got it."

They began walking down the hallway, which was strangely unguarded.

"This is too easy.", Six said. "King, what happens next?"

King thought about that as they approached a door. "I'm thinking. Six, this is where we part ways."

"What?", he asked.

"I do remember that you aren't involved with what happens next. Go back down. Help the soldiers."

"If that's the case, why did you make me come up here in the first place?", Six asked.

"Nostalgia's sake.", King replied. "Now, go."

Six almost protested, but then left. As he left, he shouted, "I'll be back!"

King nodded, then pushed open the door and walked into the room. Rex followed.

"So, what happens now?", Rex asked.

King thought about that. "Let's see... oh, now I remember! At this point, I walked into an..."

The dark room filled with blinding light, focusing on our heroes.

"Ambush?", Rex finished.

"Yeah.", King went. "Guess I should've remembered that earlier."

"Well, Rex, it seems you're just in time."

The two looked behind them, and there stood Van Kleiss and his elder self.

"Just in time," said the elder Van Kleiss. "To see my future unfold."

***.*.*.*.*.***

"Yeah. Like we're really gonna let that happen.", Rex said. "Because the future sounds like a bummer to me."

"It doesn't matter if you want it to happen or not, Rex.", younger Van Kleiss said. "The future can't be changed. Time is set in stone. Despite what your elder self may believe, he can't save everything."

"Well, I do believe that I can.", King argued. "And I don't give a-"

"I remember how he failed to save this one woman.", Van Kleiss-the-elder said. It made King stop speaking. "A doctor I believe. It was when I attacked what was left of Providence base." He smiled. "Sometimes, if I concentrate hard enough, I can relish the memory of her screams-"

He was cut off by a bomb hitting him in the face. It didn't hurt him, but it did knock him off balance.

King looked at Rex, with an expression of pure fury on his face. "I'll handle my Van Kleiss. You take yours."

"I can work with that.", Rex said.

The two then pulled out their own respective weapons, then charged.

***.*.*.*.*.***

King had no idea how Rex was doing, but he knew that he himself was doing pretty badly.

"Really, Rex.", elder-Van Kleiss laughed. "I_ can_ call you 'Rex', can I? These days you go by 'King', correct?"

King pulled out his gun, and fired. Van Kleiss deflected the bullets with his gauntlet.

Van Kleiss smirked. "Nevertheless, you should have learned by now. You can't beat me."

With the arm that wasn't covered by the gauntlet, Van Kleiss formed a more sinister-looking Smack Hand. He then punched King in the face.

King shook it off, then slashed at Van Kleiss with his remaining unbroken katana. He once again deflected it with the gauntlet.

Van Kleiss picked King up by the shirt. "So tell me. What are you going to do now?"

King was on the verge of passing out. _This is it._, he thought. _This is the end. I failed. Twenty four years of fighting, all in vain._

Then he noticed something. There was a crack in Van Kleiss's gauntlet.

King gained a crazy idea. He smiled. "You want to know what I'm going to do? I'm going to do something really, really stupid."

He kicked Van Kleiss in the gut. While he keeled over, King gained good grip on his gauntlet. And with a good, strong tug, the gauntlet ripped off.

That tug sent Van Kleiss flying into a wall. He struggled to sit up. "You... you removed my gauntlet. That's impossible."

King placed the gauntlet on his own hand. "Nothing's impossible." Gold needles sprouted from the fingers of the gauntlet. "You took something very precious from me, Van Kleiss. And now I'll be returning the favor."

He stabbed the needles into Van Kleiss's chest. There was a gold light, then blue tech-patterns erupted over Kings body.

King's cry of agony echoed throughout the building.

**Okay! Next part should be the last one. Oh, and if anyone has a Deviantart account and is a really good artist, feel free to draw fan art for this. I'd love to see what you come up with!**


	4. FINAL PART

**Whew! Final part. I can't believe I came this far so fast. I hope I kept you lot guessing, with last chap's cliffhanger. Enjoy!**

**Oh, and I realized that I've been using the names for Rex's weapons, so here's a compiled list of all the ones used or about to be used.**

**Smack Hands: His metal fists.  
>Punk Busters: His metal boots.<br>****BFS: His giant sword.  
><strong>**Slam Cannon: Self-explanatory.  
>Boogie Pack: Jet pack.<br>Rex Ride: His levitating motorcycle.  
>Blast Caster: Electric whip-arm.<br>Funchuks: Giant nunchuks.  
>Battle Axes: Self-explanatory.<br>Block Party: Energy shields.  
>Water Jet: Surf-board thing that flies in the air. <strong>

Rex activated his Blast Caster and whipped at Van Kleiss-the-younger, who easily dodged it.

"Why waste your time on such a futile effort, Rex?", Van Kleiss asked. "This isn't going to change anything."

"Yeah, like I'm really gonna listen to a third rate lab hack.", Rex retorted.

Van Kleiss stretch his gold-plated arm, and whipped right back at Rex. Rex deflected it with Block Party. He had to keep it up, because then Van Kleiss stabbed his gold-needle-fingers at Rex.

Brilliant. The only thing between himself and a dystopian future was an energy shield.

As the gauntlet collided with Block Party, there was a surge of golden energy.

Van Kleiss pressed on. "You're losing, Rex. Just surrender."

Rex kept his shield up. "_Vete al infierno_!"

After a minute, the gauntlet pierced the shield, sending Rex flying.

Rex got up, only to have Van Kleiss grab his neck and lift him up.

"What do you know? You failed. I believe an 'I told you so' is in order.", Van Kleiss gloated.

Rex tried to form a weapon, but he couldn't concentrate.

Van Kleiss lifted his gauntlet, then stabbed him in the chest. Blue tech-patterns appeared all over Rex's body. His cries of pain were indescribable.

Van Kleiss smiled. "You know, when my elder self explained his plan to me, I almost didn't go for it. But I can see now that I was right to listen. Soon, I'll be the leader of the world."

_This can't be it!_, Rex thought. _This can't be happening. I can't let that future happen!_

Then, something really unexpected happened. A Smack Hand grabbed Van Kleiss, pulled him away from Rex, and threw him across the room.

Rex fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

_What was that?_, he thought. "That wasn't my hand..."

"Technically speaking, it kind of was your hand."

Rex turned, and in the doorway was King. His eyes were glowing blue, with slight blue tech-patterns on his face. And the Smack Hand was connected to his arm.

***.*.*.*.*.***

King deactivated the hand, and began to walk forward. Two EVOs tried to attack him, but he grabbed each EVO by the face, and cured them. The EVOs reverted into people, who then ran off.

King helped Rex up. "Are you okay? And since you're not in a coma, I'm guessing that Van Kleiss didn't get your Omega-1."

"I'm fine.", Rex said. "But, how do you have your powers?"

"Let's just say that having the Omega-1 re-injected into your body is _not_ an experience I recommend. But for now, we still have your Van Kleiss to worry about.", King replied.

By that time, Van Kleiss had managed to get up. He snapped his fingers, and two red portals brought forth Biowulf and Skalamander.

"Oh come on!", Rex shouted, throwing his arms up in the air. "Can't we catch a break?"

"Maybe this will help.", King said. He then placed his hand on Rex's shoulder, the pattern grew from it, then receded.

Immediately, a surfboard device erupted from Rex's feet. He flew up a few inches in the air.

"You grab Biowulf and Skalamander, and I'll grab Van Kleiss. Then we'll fly up to the roof.", King explained.

Rex wobbled. "What is this thing?"

"The Water Jet.", King explained as he activated his Boogie Pack. "Call it an upgrade."

Then they began King's plan. King flew over and grabbed Van Kleiss, while Rex grabbed the other two. They then flew upward, crashing through several floors to the roof.

It was raining. Our heroes dropped Van Kleiss and his henchmen onto the roof. King made a steady landing, but Rex lost his balance on the Water Jet and fell on his face.

"Yeah, it's going to take a few tries before you get the hang of it.", King said as he helped Rex up. "You take the hack. I'll take the henchmen."

"Sounds good to me.", Rex agreed, rubbing his sore face.

He activated his Battle Axes and charged at Van Kleiss, who made the plants around him defend him.

This went on for awhile. Rex attacked, Van Kleiss fought right back. Every so often, Rex would look to see how King was doing.

King was really thrashing Biowulf and Skalamander. At some points, King was even using Punk Busters and Funchuks at the same time!

"Nice to see you're not out of practice!", Rex shouted over.

"It's like riding a bike!", King answered back, knocking Skalamander aside. "You never really forget! Oh, and DUCK!"

Rex ducked, just in time to evade a whipping vine. His built his BFS, converted it into a buzz saw, and sliced through the vines that Van Kleiss threw at him.

Once Rex got close enough, his built his Smack Hand and punched Van Kleiss in the face.

Rex picked up Van Kleiss by the shirt. "What do you know? You failed. I believe an 'I told you so' is in order."

Van Kleiss grit his teeth. "This isn't over, but I know when to retreat."

A red portal made Van Kleiss disappear, along with Biowulf and Skalamander.

King walked over to Rex. "What a coward."

"King! Do you realize what this means?", Rex shouted. "I didn't lose my powers! Your timeline isn't going to happen!"

King had a truly shocked looked on his face, like he couldn't believe that it was true. "You mean, it's over? After all these years, it's finally over..."

But he was interrupted by two vines lifting he and Rex off the ground, and slamming them onto the roof repeatedly.

"You may have the Omega-1, but I still have my original powers.", Van Kleiss-the-elder growled. He was a mess. His slicked-back hair was all over the place, and his clothes disheveled.

He gave a sadistic grin. "I'll kill you King, then I'll bring Rex to my younger self. My future is absolute!"

King grit his teeth. "Van Kleiss, for once in your life, SHUT UP!"

King built his Battle Axes, and ripped apart the vine holding him. Once he was down, he used them to free Rex. Then, both men built Smack Hands.

King punched Van Kleiss. "This is for Agent Six!"

Rex punched Van Kleiss as well. "Then this is for Doctor Holiday!

With each name they said, Van Kleiss earned a punch.

"Noah!"

"Bobo Haha!"

"Captain Calan!"

"Kenwyn!"

"White Knight!"

"Annie!"

"Cricket!"

"Tuck!"

"Sqwydd!"

"Circe!"

"And this," King said, deactivating his machines and lifting Van Kleiss up by the arm. "Is for me."

On the arm, King located the bracelet keeping Van Kleiss in the past.

King smirked. "Sorry, Van Kleiss. But as of right now, your future is _cancelado_!"

With a sharp tug, the bracelet came off, and King crushed it in his hand. In under a moment, Van Kleiss dissipated into a grey-green smoke, and disappeared.

The rain stopped, and Rex deactivated his Smack Hands and walked over to King. "Okay, _now_ it's finally over."

Then Rex built his Boogie Pack, and King his Water Jet, and they flew down to the street below.

Six and some soldiers were fighting the remaining EVOs. Once King and Rex got there, they cured them.

Six walked over to them. "So, how did it go?"

"Awesome! We stopped Van Kleiss, and now, Providence has two cures!", Rex said.

"_Que_?", King asked.

"Yeah! With you here, we can save twice as many EVOs!", Rex said happily. "And you can teach me how to build new machines!"

King rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "Um, yeah. Right. Hows about we go get a victory taco?"

Rex nodded. "Great idea!"

The two began to walk away. King looked behind him, and saw Six giving him a look.

King shrugged.

***.*.*.*.*.***

By the time Rex got back to Providence, it was really late. The minute he got there, he went into his room and fell asleep. But strangely enough, he ended up waking before dawn.

Once he was dressed, he began to look for King. But he couldn't find him anywhere.

Rex went into Holiday's lab, and saw her typing on the computer.

"Hey, have you seen King?", Rex asked her.

Holiday looked away from her computer. "Actually, yes, I have. He was here just a few minutes ago."

"Really? What was he doing in here?", he asked.

Holiday gained a sad expression. "He... he came to tell me that he was sorry. That he was sorry for not saving me in the future."

Rex didn't have anything to say about that.

Holiday shook off the sadness. "Anyway, I think he said that he was going up on the roof."

So Rex went to check the roof, seeing that the sun was starting to rise. And sure enough, King was there. King had traded his ninja-outfit for a simple white t-shirt, jeans, and boots. On his head were a familiar pair of goggles.

Rex walked over to him. "You still have our goggles?"

King smiled. "I kept them handy. Never really had a chance to wear them until now."

"I can't blame you. Ladies dig a dude in goggles.", Rex said.

King laughed softly. "I'll take your word for it." He sighed. "I'm really going to miss you, kid. These past couple days have been great."

Rex frowned. "It's sounds like you're saying goodbye."

"I am.", King replied.

"You're _leaving_?", Rex shouted. "But why?"

"My future is gone. Therefore, I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't even exist." King rubbed one of his temples. "My memories have already changed according to the altered timeline. To make the shift complete, I have to go back."

"But I don't want you to leave!", Rex said. "You're the coolest adult I've ever met. The version I _want_ to become is you!"

King grabbed Rex's shoulders. "_Mijo_, this is the way things have to be. I knew this would happen when I took the mission." He smiled. "Listen, I'm warning you ahead of time, that things are about to get real ugly, real fast. But it'll get better. All you have to do, is do what I didn't all these years."

"What's that?", Rex asked.

"Live.", King answered.

Rex then did something really unexpected. He hugged King. King was taken aback for a moment, but then hugged him back.

When they broke apart, King said, "Well, I guess I'm off."

"I guess so.", Rex said.

King walked to the edge of the roof, and built his Boogie Pack. But instead of flying away, he looked back at Rex and said, "Oh, and one more thing! When you see him, tell Ben I said hi!"

Rex gained a confused look. "Ben? Who's Ben?"

King grinned and lowered his goggles. "Sorry, no spoilers! _Adiós_!"

King flew up into the air, with Rex shouting after him, "King!"

King hovered for a moment, and shouted back down to him, "The name's not King! It's Rex! Always has been, always will be!"

Rex watched as his older self flew into the sunrise. While he watched, he saw him remove his bracelet.

And then he was gone.

*****.*.*.*.*.*****

Six walked onto the roof, and sat down next to Rex, who was sitting on the edge, dangling his legs.

"So, he's gone?", Six asked.

"Yup.", Rex replied. "Went back to his future, whatever that may be. Hopefully, it's one worth living in."

They were silent for few minutes, and then Six said, "Now what? After all that's happened, are you still in a rush to grow up?"

He leaned back. "At first, I thought I was. I mean, did you see what an awesome adult I'm gonna be? But now, I realize that I'm in no rush. I'm a teenager."

Rex looked once more at the nearly-risen sun. "I have all the time in the world."

**It's done! It's finally done! Now, hit that review button! I wanna hear what you have to say!**


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